A Chain of Correspondence Not a Chain Letter

It's a sad but true fact that a poorly written resume, cover letter or
follow-up letter will be nothing more than a brief source of amusement
for a potential employer before it makes its way to the recycling bin.
While silly typos and grammatical errors might provide some entertainment,
they also reflect an inattention to detail on the part of the job candidate-an
undesirable trait in any employee. Luckily, by following a few standard
practices, your resume and correspondence can reflect a keen attention
to detail and ability to excel in your chosen field.

Think of each piece of correspondence between yourself and your potential
employer as a link in a chain-each individual link needs to be sturdy
in order for the chain as a whole to be strong. The links in your chain
of correspondence should include: a cover letter or a letter of inquiry,
a resume, a thank-you letter and a letter of acceptance or refusal when
appropriate.

Common Characteristics

All correspondence between yourself and potential employers should conform
to a few basic rules. The number one rule to prevent your correspondence
chain from breaking down under careful scrutiny is to keep it professional.
All correspondence should be word-processed and printed on high-quality,
81/2ý x 11ý paper. Generally, resumes and letters should
be one page in length. However, if you are a job applicant with several
years of experience in your field, your resume can exceed the one-page
limit if necessary. All correspondence should be proofread carefully for
spelling, punctuation and grammar.

The Letter of Application

The letter of application can be a cover letter or a letter of inquiry.
A cover letter is used if you're applying for an advertised opening within
a company. The letter of inquiry is sent "blind" to a company
that you are interested in working for. Instead of applying for a specific
position that you know is open within the company, you will be inquiring
after any open position. These differences will be apparent in the body
of the letter (see the "Sample Cover Letter" and "Sample
Letter of Inquiry" on the opposite page). However, the overall form
and style of the letters are the same.

The opening paragraph of a letter of application should spark the interest
of the employer. Use it to explain how you heard about the job or why
you're interested in the company and identify your career objective as
well. The middle paragraphs-no more than two-should broadly establish
what skills you possess that would be a good fit at the company. Remember,
your resume will highlight the details of your experience, so don't get
too carried away explaining them in your letter. The body paragraphs are
an opportunity to express your knowledge of the company and how you see
yourself fitting into their big picture. To that end, refer the employer
to sections of your resume that explain in more detail the skills the
employer would find most valuable. The final paragraph should again express
your interest in the position or the company. Invite them to contact you
to set up an appointment, and explain your intent to follow up your letter
and resume with a phone call on a specific date. And don't forget to tell
the employer that you value their time with a statement like, "thank
you for your time and consideration."

The Resume

A resume is the main link in the chain of correspondence. It provides
the employer with the facts they need to know in order to decide whether
or not you are a viable candidate. Your goal when creating your resume
is to give potential employers an honest representation of your skills.
But you can mold it to reflect your most important strengths based on
the individual needs or requirements of particular employers. Also, your
resume will naturally change over the length of a career, i.e., education
experience will move to the bottom of your resume after you've achieved
several years of work experience. Some things should remain the same,
however. The header should always contain your personal contact information:
name, current address, telephone number and a professional email address
(this is no time for slacker55@xyz.com to make an appearance).

The next section of the resume, your objective, should be short, very
specific and should include a job title whenever possible. If you are
sending a resume with a letter of inquiry you can use a generic title
that fits your field of interest (i.e., programmer or civil engineer).
Don't limit yourself by adding the word "assistant" or "trainee."
The employer will determine the appropriate level of employment based
on your resume.

As a recent graduate, the next section of your resume will be the education
section. Always list the school's name, location, the year you graduated
(or the date you expect to graduate), your GPA if it's a 3.0 or better
and any honor's programs in which you were involved. If you haven't had
much or any experience in the field for which you are applying, include
a list of relevant coursework under your education information.

Once you've accumulated several years of experience in your field, the
education section will follow the experience section. The education section
will also shrink to exclude relevant coursework and GPA. In the experience
section, there should be a small subsection for each position. It will
start with your title, the company name, location and your dates of employment.

This information can be rearranged to start with the company name if
you prefer to emphasize the company before your position within the company.
Also include a list job duties and acquired skills-present this information
concisely using action words.

Toward the end of your resume you should list your computer skills. A
list of computer software names that you are familiar using is sufficient,
but if the list stretches to four or five lines of text you might want
to break it up a bit with subcategories appropriate to the software they
describe.

Finally, you will reach the final section of your resume-the activities
section. Not too long ago, this section included personal information
about hobbies, sports and personal interests. While this information is
important to you, it is usually not important to an employer. Remember,
they are looking for a candidate for a specific position in their company,
and this is the one piece of paper that is going to give them the most
information to make that decision. With that in mind, include association
memberships, honor's programs (if you aren't going to list them in the
education section) and any volunteer work you've done in the field.

The Thank-You Letter

When your letters of application and resume have done their job and you
are granted an interview, you must follow the interview with a thank-you
note. You will have a better feel for the company environment at this
point in the process, so you will be the best judge of what form the thank-you
letter should take. In some extreme cases, an emailed thank you is appropriate.
For example, a fast-paced, casual, Internet company is a good candidate
for an email. It might also be appropriate if you know that they will
be making their decision in a time frame that won't allow a letter to
arrive in time. Otherwise, you should break out another piece of that
special paper, a matching envelope and a stamp.

The thank-you note is just that, a note. This is not the time to reiterate
absolutely everything that has taken place in the process so far. It is
the time to acknowledge the value of the employer's time and your continued
interest in the position. Start with a paragraph thanking the interviewer
for the opportunity to meet with him or her. Remember to include the specific
position title and the date of the interview so the interviewer will be
reminded exactly who you are.

The next paragraph should convey your continued interest in the company,
and remind the employer of the skills you have that you think would be
most valuable to the company. You can include new information is this
paragraph, but it should be pertinent to the job. End the note with your
gratitude, and mention that you look forward to hearing from them.

The Letter of Acceptance

In most cases, the thank-you letter will be the final link in your correspondence
chain. Occasionally, however, you will need to write a letter of acceptance.
This link will be necessary, for example, if you have applied for a position
in another state or country, and the employer can't easily invite you
back for a second or third interview to make a face-to-face offer. It
might also be necessary in a more traditional company where management
likes to have written documentation in their employment records confirming
employee's satisfaction with their job offer. Whatever the reason, if
you are called upon to write a letter of acceptance, there are three things
you must accomplish within the letter. You must confirm the title of the
position and the salary. You must accept the position at that salary.
And, again, you must thank them for their time and the opportunity to
join their company.

The Letter of Refusal

If, for any reason, you are made a job offer and decide not to take the
position, you might want to send a letter of refusal. Again, you want
to be specific about the job title, although you don't have to mention
the salary. You want to respectfully decline the offer and site a specific
reason, (i.e., an earlier offer from another company). Remember to thank
the employer for their time-you never know if you might want to apply
for another position with the company in the future, so don't burn any
bridges!

Sample Cover Letter

I am interested in applying for the quality assurance position recently
advertised in The New York Times. The skills I have developed from my
work experience and academic background support my strong interest in
this career.

As you can see from my resume, the internship I had with XYZ Corporation
provided an opportunity for me to gain practical experience with product
troubleshooting. The management commended me several times for my attention
to detail.

Ever since I decided to pursue a quality assurance career, ABC Corporation
has been at the top of my list of prospective employers. The strides your
company has taken in the computer software market-namely the development
of packages for use by pharmacies and hospitals-make ABC a leader in the
industry.

I would very much like an opportunity to speak with you regarding the
quality assurance position. I will call you late next week to discuss
my qualifications for the position, or you can reach me in the meantime
at (718) 555-0000. Thank you for considering me for this position.

Sample Letter of Inquiry

I am seeking a position in materials evaluation at a high-level technology
company such as yours. I am aware from researching your firm that you
have a training program for physicists and engineers.

As you will note from the enclosed resume, I have majored in physics
and have participated in significant research. This background, as well
as several business courses, has prepared me to combine an interest in
motivating people with a desire to work in a technical environment.

I would like to learn more about your trainee position, and I will contact
your office the week of April 15th to arrange an appointment at your convenience.

Sample Thank-You Letter

Thank you for taking the time to interview me at UNC-Charlotte on April
11. I enjoyed talking with you and learning more about the mechanical
design position with Avery.

As I mentioned during our interview, I have had experience as an intern
with Honeywell IAC. I have also taken advanced classes in material engineering
at UNC-Charlotte. I greatly enjoy this career field and wish to apply
my interest and knowledge to Avery Communications.

Again, thank you for the opportunity to interview with you. I look forward
to speaking with you again soon.

Sincerely,

Carol Jones

Carol James (signiture)

Sample Letter of Refusal

I am writing to confirm receipt of your letter offering me a position
in Universal Company's technical training program. I am very grateful
for the offer, but I am afraid I must decline it at this time. Since we
last spoke, I was offered a position in a technical training program much
closer to home.

Thank you for your consideration throughout the past few weeks. I hope
we will have further contact in the future as it was a pleasure meeting
with you and learning about the great opportunities within your company.